Sancta Maria College

Leaving Certificate Applied

LCA

The provision of the leaving certificate applied programme at Sancta Maria College commenced in September 2000.
This curriculum change at senior cycle placed our school in a unique position locally: one of the few schools which offered the full range of options at leaving Certificate; students have transferred from other schools because of this, within school programme change can be accommodated, this too has happened on a number of occasions.

What does Leaving Certificate Applied comprise?

The main difference between this programme and other Leaving Certificate programmes is the manner in which it is assessed. It is assessed under three headings:

  • Continuous assessment in both senior cycle years by means of task Examinations, the results of which go to the final result awarded to students.
  • Completion of course work through a series of designated key assignments in each subject, combined with students’ attendance levels.
  • Final examinations taken at the same time as all other leaving certificate student’s nationality.

Leaving certificate applied is based on the idea of Howard Gardner, that of multiple intelligences. While students are assessed academically in traditional exam format in English, Maths, Languages-other competencies are also measured in the task examination format. These include: communication skills, ability to work as a team and individually, initiative and finally the ability to reflect and analyse on past learning experiences is also promoted.

Leaving Certificate Applied students are obliged to take two specialist subjects, at Sancta Maria College our two specialisms are Hotel, Catering and Tourism and Information Technology.

Traditional and new subjects feature on the programme: students study, English, Irish, French, Maths, Religious Education and Leisure and Recreation. New subjects include, Social Education, Vocational preparation and Guidance.

Work experience is mandatory at Leaving Certificate Applied, our students take three placements: these are awarded credits and contribute to the students’ final result. An interesting feature of the course that within Religious Education and Leisure and Recreation, students can build up credits for the final result.